HRMD 620
6Exam #3
Fall 15
Instructions: Please read these carefully. Each class is likely to be different. If you assume you know what is required, you may make a mistake that can be avoided just by reading the instructions.
⦁ Post your Answer Sheet by November 9, 2015, 11:59 p.m. (EST), in your individual assignment folder. Please post on time to avoid the 5% per day late penalty required by departmental policy. Remember the late window begins at 12:00 a.m. the next day. Please don’t ask me after the deadline to waive a late penalty. If you’re having a problem that matches the criteria in the grading policy, contact me before the deadline. I help when I can. (See the Grading Information in the syllabus.)
⦁ Please work alone; this is not a group assignment.
⦁ Do not use any work that has been submitted to a previous class. (See the Grading Information in the syllabus. This is also part of the Academic Integrity pledge you signed.)
⦁ Do not use a cover sheet. Just be sure your name is on the Answer Sheet. The blank Answer Sheet is in the Course Content area, in the same place as the exam.
⦁ Remember to use a Word .doc or .docx file format to ensure I can open your work. (See the Grading Information in the syllabus.)
⦁ Please do not retype the information or annotate your multiple-choice response. Any confusion in the answer will be interpreted as an error. Just list the response by the number on the Answer Sheet.
⦁ Please do not consult sources other than those we have already used in the course. The exam tests your understanding of the existing reading material and exercises, not your ability to do research.
⦁ Please do use APA to reference your essay/case response. Create a reference list at the end and use the (author, year) format within the text; or, if it is a direct quote, the (author, year, page number) format. Please do not start a new page only for the reference list; just space down after your last response.
⦁ Remember to process Part B through Turnitin and include the originality scores on your Answer Sheet. Departmental policy requires the score to be available before the work is submitted to your assignment folder for grading. The document in your assignment folder must match the final one submitted to Turnitin. Be sure to allow time for multiple submissions in case you need them. Turnitin often requires at least 24 hours to process a revision. You’ll need to check each match to be sure it is presented properly. The score represents both possible referencing errors and the amount of original work. For an assignment of this nature, most of the work should be original thinking. If you do not have a “green” score, please see if you can paraphrase some of your quotations. If you need to cite an “expert” source, such as for a definition, however, paraphrasing may not be appropriate.
⦁ Please realize that I cannot answer questions that are actually part of the test itself. That violates testing methodology. I can address “administrative type” questions. Post questions to the 9Exam#3 discussion area (vs. email) so everyone will have the same information.
⦁ Please be sure you have submitted the document you intended. Double-check by opening your document in your folder after you’ve submitted it. After the deadline, I cannot accept revisions to your assignment.
Tips for Success
Be sure you have answered all the questions. From time to time, I see students misnumber or omit questions.
Allow sufficient time to think, revise, and think again about your answers before producing the final document. As soon as you have the exam, read what is needed. During the week, think about how to answer the questions. Jot down ideas to consider. Create an outline of the content you want to include in the written portion. Then, assemble the parts into a coherent response.
Use the free writing support tools that are accessed via the classroom. Allow enough time for the writing tutors to assist. Use the Common Writing Issues as a checklist. Both sources are located in the Content area.
Part A – Basic Knowledge (This is worth 30% of the test score. Each question is worth 2 points.)
⦁ The primary goal for most management negotiators in bargaining is to ________.
⦁ decrease the number of work hours
⦁ maximize the health insurance benefits provided to the employees
⦁ increase the value of the cost-of-living adjustments
⦁ minimize the cents-per-hour direct wage increase
⦁ True or False: A two-tier wage system is a wage system in which the wages received by the employees are directly proportional to their performance.
⦁ Which of the following statements is true regarding layoffs in unionized organizations?
⦁ In most labor contracts, the highest paid employees are laid off first, with further layoffs made in accordance with performance levels as necessary.
⦁ Agreements specify age as the sole decision criterion in layoff and recall situations.
⦁ If the workforce is increased after a layoff, laid-off employees are to be recalled according to past performance levels for appropriate jobs.
⦁ In cases involving temporary or emergency layoffs, management is often given more flexibility in selecting employees than in indefinite layoffs.
⦁ True or False: An employee is not entitled to a job assignment as a reasonable accommodation of his or her disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if the assignment would conflict with the rules of a seniority system.
⦁ True or False: In general, the burden of proof is placed on the employer to show that a bypassed senior employee is not competent for the job during promotions or layoff or recall actions.
⦁ True or False: The NLRA does not allow for a breach of an existing collective bargaining agreement due to financial hardship while Chapter 11 of the U. S. federal bankruptcy code does.
⦁ The union contract provisions usually include that ________ may request arbitration as a final step in resolving the grievance.
⦁ the NLRB
⦁ only management
⦁ the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service
⦁ either management or labor
⦁ Which of the following factors is most likely to be considered by an arbitrator while resolving a case of employee misconduct?
⦁ the skill set of the employee
⦁ the educational qualification of the employee
⦁ the employee’s length of service with the company
⦁ the employee’s designation in the company
⦁ Which of the following is a major disadvantage of grievance mediation?
⦁ The process of grievance mediation is slower than arbitration.
⦁ The process of grievance mediation is more expensive than arbitration.
⦁ There is a possibility that the process of mediation will not lead to any settlement.
⦁ The process of grievance mediation is not confidential and the mediator is obliged to share the details mediation of with the public.
⦁ True or False: An employee has a legal right to report a grievance directly to a supervisor without informing the shop steward but the supervisor must notify the union of the grievance.
⦁ Which of the following statements is TRUE of arbitration of grievances under collective bargaining?
⦁ In determining whether there is a duty to arbitrate a dispute, the courts should examine the merits of the underlying grievance.
⦁ In labor contracts with an arbitration clause, if there is any doubt regarding the topics covered by the arbitration clause, then the topic should be considered as non-arbitrable.
⦁ The parties are not required to arbitrate a dispute that they have not agreed to submit to arbitration.
⦁ A court should enforce the decision of an arbitrator only after examining its correctness.
⦁ Which of the following is a difference between arbitration and litigation?
⦁ Arbitration hearings are more formal than litigation.
⦁ Arbitrators need not have legal training but people conducting litigation ought to have legal training.
⦁ The labor-management issues that are not covered by the collective bargaining agreement are resolved by arbitration whereas the issues that are covered by the collective bargaining agreement are resolved by litigation.
⦁ The decision given by an arbitrator is not binding on either of the party but the decision of litigation is binding on both the parties.
⦁ True or False: In interpreting the labor agreement, the arbitrator is limited to the words of the contract and cannot take into consideration past practices.
⦁ True or False: An individual is precluded from suing under the civil rights laws if his/her claim has gone through arbitration under the collective bargaining agreement.
⦁ True or False: Both labor and management have to pay arbitration fees.
Part B – Case Analysis (This is worth 70% of the test grade.)
Process your response through Turnitin.
Contract Provisions
Article III – Management Rights
The Company also has the right to establish and require employees to observe company rules and regulations, lay off or relieve employees from duties, to maintain order, and to suspend, demote, discipline, and discharge employees for just cause in line with this Agreement.
First Violation of These Rules = Discharge
⦁ Theft or misappropriation of any property or money of employees or the Company
Facts of the Case
The grievant reported to work more than an hour after commencement of his shift. He informed his supervisor that he had stopped by the residence of a friend the night before to watch a basketball game and had overslept, making him late for work. About noon that day, the supervisor was leaving for lunch when he noticed an orange ladder in the back of the grievant’s pickup truck that appeared to be a company ladder. He reported this to the human resources manager, and they decided to investigate. They went to the grievant’s truck and confirmed that, indeed, it was a company-labeled ladder. They checked with the guard station to determine whether the grievant had obtained a property removal authorization pass granting him permission to take the ladder off company premises. The guards confirmed that the grievant had not presented them with any such pass. The union vice president was summoned to the scene and was told they were concerned that the grievant might be planning to steal the ladder. The union vice president suggested that they should wait and see whether the grievant actually left the company’s premises with the ladder before reaching any conclusions.
The grievant did, in fact, leave with the ladder at approximately 3:30 p.m. The grievant does not dispute the fact that he had never obtained a signed authorization pass to remove the ladder from the facility. The grievant returned the ladder to the company facility at 5:40 p.m. that same day. It was discovered in later discussions that the grievant had originally taken this ladder, without proper written authorization, approximately four months earlier. The grievant said he intended to return it sooner, but it was stored at his home and he was prevented from going on that property due to a court order connected to divorce proceedings. The grievant indicated that his supervisor had given him verbal permission to take the ladder. Witnesses testified that it was common practice for employees to borrow articles from the company merely by obtaining a supervisor’s verbal permission. The grievant’s supervisor acknowledged that he did tell the grievant he could take the ladder, but only if he got an authorization slip. The company said the grievant knew the policy because he had obtained written permission several times previously.
Unconvinced by the grievant’s explanations, the company ultimately came to the conclusion that the grievant intended to steal the ladder and he was terminated. Subsequently, in light of the grievant’s 24 years of service with the company, the termination was changed to a six-month suspension without pay which amounted to approximately $40,000. The grievant appealed.
Analysis
You do need to process this through Turnitin. Limit your response to a maximum of 2 pages.
As the arbitrator, what would you decide and why?
____ Content (90%)
___ Authorization/framework for the decision is given.(5)
___ Key concepts are expertly defined.(10)
___Each side’s point of view is addressed in the rationale.(70)
___ Decision is complete and clear.(5)
____Presentation (10%)
___Short introduction gives the purpose and agenda for the response.(2)
___Writing is clear and clean.(5)
___ Short summary recaps the key points.(1)
___ APA is used for in-text and end referencing.(2)
